Fake
by DarKiss
Summary: Sasuke lives his life like any other teenager, without the need for vengeance. But when the weird Shisui appears violently in his life, Sasuke's eyes finally open to see that what he had labeled as imagination might be real and the young Uchiha is thrown on a path that might bring him nothing but misery and hatred. AU, might turn into a slight shounen-ai in the later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Hello, there, this is my first story here, so please bear with me. :) Also, the story might be a bit slow, but I prefer this over rushing it too much, I think it's better to build things up gradually. About the shounen-ai in this story, I am yet unsure if I should add any, but I will announce it beforehand.

Another thing is that the characters are intended to be OOC at the beginning, but that will change as the story goes.

That being said, thank you for taking the time to read !

* * *

Chapter 1: Acceptance

_ "People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct or true. That's how they define "reality". But what does it mean to be "correct" or "true"? Merely vague concepts… their reality may all be but a mirage."_

Those were his brother's words. Sasuke was sure of that. He had been hearing them every night, in his sleep, yet, he couldn't remember when he had heard them. But he knew they were Itachi's.

But, as sure as he was that those were his words, he was sure Itachi wouldn't tell him what he meant to say by them. Sasuke even got the feeling that Itachi couldn't explain it himself anymore. Itachi had changed, since _that_ happened. Itachi seemed like a totally different person. Or was it just Sasuke's imagination? But it couldn't have been, right? Itachi was always such a calm and cold person so the difference was just plain obvious now. It was impossible for Itachi to be like this, yet, he was. And Sasuke felt like he was simply missing something. Was the really calculated Itachi just a fragment of Sasuke's childish imagination? Or could this mean something more?

Sasuke was still half asleep when his arm hit the snooze button on the alarm clock, throwing the poor object around the corner of his drawer and under his bed. He would now be forced to wake up and get it out of there the next time it would ring. That was just perfect for a Monday morning. He rustled the sheets and made himself comfortable again. If he tried really hard, he could ignore the alarm clock and sleep a nice and long sleep, ditching the first two or three periods, why not skip the entire day?

This day was just one of those really suffocating days. When he felt an unknown pressure pressing all around him, squeezing him and making it impossible for him to breathe. Ok, this might just be a bit over thinking it. He just had that certain feeling that _something_ was slowly but surely leaving him. Like something was always trying to get back into his head at night, but daytime would just push it back to the deepest shadows. It was simply just annoying…

He turned around and tried to avoid the light coming from the crack of the window's curtain right when Itachi came rushing into the room. He slammed the door open and started talking. Sasuke couldn't care less about his brother's complaints. He vaguely distinguished the word "clock" and suddenly became aware of his alarm ringing monotonously but infernally.

"Where is that god damn clock, Sasuke?!" Itachi screamed while desperately searching through the heaps of clothes and sheets, before turning to Sasuke to shake him awake.

"Under the… bed" He mumbled, annoyed at having to open his mouth again, right a few minutes after having woken up in such a bad disposition.

"Jesus, how do you even manage to sleep with this shit under your bed? Are you deaf or something? Why can't you ever wake up like a normal person?! Fuck."

The stinging sound stopped and Sasuke caught himself sighing of relief. That thing made him tense. His older brother made him even more tensed. He always acted that way when he was mad, saying things like that, when, in fact, Sasuke rarely caused any troubles. He usually woke up like any normal person, but whenever he didn't, Itachi would start accusing him of everything he ever did or didn't do. Why was Itachi like this? Sasuke started feeling guilty. This was just the way Itachi was and he felt remorse for getting the feeling that Itachi had changed. It felt as though his brother was not good enough, as if Sasuke was imagining another Itachi before this one, just to fill in the gap.

He pushed the thought deep into a corner of his mind. Itachi was a gentle older brother. He never did anything bad and always took good care of his younger brother for ten whole years, ever since... well, ever since their parents got caught up in a certain violent altercation and got killed by a psychotic man when Sasuke was barely seven. At least that was what he had been told. But it didn't matter now anyway, a lie or not, it's not like anything could be changed now. He didn't care about it. That man was probably in a prison or mental hospital, and, just as probable, he would spend the rest of his life there. It was enough punishment. After all, what could have been done? What revenge? What could you take from a mad man, in order to destroy him? Sasuke knew there was no answer, probably even torturing him wouldn't make him feel the "real" pain, the pain normal people felt, so he resigned. He kept his parents' memory close to him and remained grateful to his brother for being such a good man.

"…all day long. What would they think? Jesus, your room is a mess. How do you ever manage to get through with school still baffles me. One day your little tricks won't work anymore and you'll fail. Get up already. Maybe the school's level dropped, having someone like you at the top, I should speak to your teachers…" Itachi kept complaining about everything, jumping from one topic to another, while furiously gathering clothes from Sasuke's floor and stacking them neatly into a pile that would most certainly get washed right away.

Sasuke got up slowly. His brother was dressed in a suit, as usually, but it looked surprisingly good on him at all times. His short, black hair was done perfectly, and even though he roamed the room and moved a lot, everything still looked perfect on him. The little wrinkles and scars on the right side of his face were barely visible, the scars he got while saving Sasuke from the fire… fire that was started by the same crazy man that killed their parents, of course. He turned around and looked at Sasuke with a tired look, but also Sasuke knew the complaining would stop. His understanding look told him everything was fine.

"Come on, get dressed. I'll give you a ride to school."

"You sure that's fine? Don't you have a meeting or something?"

"I do, but it's fine. I can drop you off to school and hurry up." Itachi smiled gently and Sasuke nodded.

He pulled a gray T-Shirt out of his drawer and a pair of black, tight jeans and got dressed. He took his bag and put it across his shoulder. He didn't have to put anything else in it. He had a few notebooks inside and used them for more than one class. He was just that good, but he was lazy and didn't really feel like doing anything with all his capacity.

He rushed down the stairs and got his black shoes on, then grabbed his black leather jacket and his scarf from the hanger and put them on. His brother was waiting outside in his black BMW, the car running and the passenger's door open. Sasuke ran to it. The trip was nice, relaxing, his brother laughed a lot and now he felt better. He even felt a bit of sadness, having to get off in front of his school.

"I'll be home late tonight, so feel free to order food, ok?"

"Okay, take care."

"Yeah, you too, little brother"

The car then disappeared from his line of sight and he turned around to enter the school gates. The classes passed by, boringly and he even invited a few friends over. He wasn't all that found of people in general, but he knew it pained his brother to see him all alone, so he would often make use of his looks and the fact that he had people always willing to hang out with him, even be his friends and help him. There were a few of them that seemed a bit bearable to be around, maybe even a bit fun at times, like Naruto for example, who was actually pretty close to him in a way. And it made his brother happy. It always did, seeing that he didn't fail at raising his little brother, that _the_ incident didn't take such a tool on him. Of course it affected Sasuke, but his brother did such a great job. He couldn't explain why he didn't like people in fact, he liked being with Itachi, so who knows why other people weren't the same. He couldn't possibly make Itachi feel like he failed. He would hate that. So he was a good brother.

They all ordered food and paid for it together, watched movies and Sasuke kept being cold to everyone, especially the girls, not that there were many. His classmate, Sakura, Naruto's childhood friend, Hinata, and Neji's cousin, Ino. Sasuke always found the fact that Hinata and Neji seemed to look so alike weird, since they were not even related. Even their last name was the same.

"Let's watch something! Something like a good horror movie! " It was Saukra's suggestion, and , of course, everyone agreed. They ended up watching two of them, since the first one was so scary, they had to watch another one so poorly made that it got them all to laugh so much they cried. Everyone but Sasuke. He laughed too, but not THAT much.

"It's gotten pretty late. You'd better head home"

Everyone agreed, and , right before leaving Naruto turned to him

"You know, Sasuke, if there's something on your mind, you can always tell me. I'm here for you" He had a concerned look in his eyes.

"I'm fine, what would an idiot like you worrying for me do good anyway?" Naruto smiled and left, and the door shut and locked after him.

Sasuke looked at the clock. It was 2:47 in the morning. Itachi was still out. Should he be worried? He tried calling him a few times on his phone and, at 2:53 he decided it just won't work and that he was probably just being paranoid. He would go to sleep and that was it… he ended up calling Itachi's office just to learn he was away on business, and that he would probably be gone for some more time. He felt relieved. At 3:04 he was done brushing his teeth and he changed his clothes to nothing but a pair of loose pants. He threw the rest on the ground, then looked at them, picked them up and folded them. He was thinking that this would make his brother smile while placing them on the chair in his room.

He laid down into the bed without drawing the curtains, just because the moon was so astonishingly beautiful today. He stared at it for a long while and the shadows kept moving, kept forming silhouettes… CRASH. A loud noise came from the kitchen. Itachi was back, Sasuke got out of the bed and rushed to the kitchen to greet him. In there, a fairly tall man was looking down at a broken glass of water.

"Are you ok, brother?" Sasuke rushed to the place and took his brother's hand into his to search for any wounds.

He was an idiot, in his sudden rush of worry, he forgot to turn the lights on.

"Brother, turn on the lights please, I can't see anything, are you ok?"

The man remained still, as if he was trying really hard to understand. Sasuke lifted his eyes. The darkness was embracing his face, but, he could see it clearly now, the bruised hands, the scarred neck, and now, the smooth face, with no burn marks on it, the ruffled and black hair. This was not his brother. He stepped away cautiously and grabbed a knife.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Disaster

"Who are you? If you came to steal anything, I suggest you silently leave." Sasuke warned the man in front of him.

"This is not right, this place… no one was supposed to be here. This can't end well. But I am sure this is the Uchiha residence… so why?" He started walking around the room, put his hands into his short hair, and looked scared to death.

Sasuke lowered the knife, but kept his grip on it firm, in case the man tried anything.

"Are you here to steal?" He said, stressing each word and raising his voice so he was sure the man heard.

As if snapping from a trance, the man looked up. His eyes ran across Sasuke's figure and then he rushed forward, paying little to no attention to the knife that was now pointed right at him.

"You have to help me! He'll die! He can't die!" The man was shouting.

"Get off me!"Sasuke shouted in return.

"Please! Please! HELP HIM! You ha…"

The man stopped and looked down at his stomach, where blood started flooding from. Sasuke had stabbed him. His eyes searched for Sasuke's.

"Please, help him…" He said before falling down. Sasuke caught him and his legs instantly went soft, his knees gave out and he collapsed on the ground, hitting the cold and hard floor underneath, together with the unknown man.

He stabbed him. The man might die. Sasuke would now go to prison and his brother would… he would feel like he had failed! Sasuke was nothing but a failure and a disappointment to him! This couldn't be. He was a fucked up murdered, just like the one who killed his parents. No. No. NO!

"_Don't cry, Sasuke. Your big brother is here to protect you, no matter what happens."_

If only those words were true. Actually, he knew they were, but as much as he knew that Itachi will always be there for him, Sasuke couldn't bear the thought of Itachi's scared and disgusted face, if he ever was to find out his little brother was a murdered… Now that he thought of it, when did Itachi even say all those words? His head hurt, so he pushed the matter aside. He slowly opened his eyes.

"Are you awake?" A soft, feminine voice whispered to him from the corner of the room.

He was lying on the living room's couch, a warm and comfortable blanket covering his sweaty body. He was shivering. He looked around to see the one speaking, knowing what he would see long before he did. Sakura's pink hair was neatly tied up in a pony-tail and her bangs were tied too. Her big, green eyes were fixed on him, and they were filled with worry. A small wrinkle was present between her small brows and she was frowning. Sasuke got up, and while doing so, the memories of that night flooded him. He looked at the clock. It was 6:43.

"Is he ok?" Sasuke asked and he realized his throat was sore and his voice was low.

Sakura just nodded. He remembered her scared face when he called her, he remembered it all so vividly. Sakura wanted to become a doctor, so she had already undergone a lot of medical courses. She was the perfect choice. When he called her in the middle of the night, he knew she would come, because of her weakness for him, but making her help a dying man, was an entirely different matter… but she owed him, for keeping his mouth shut about her own dirty secrets, so she ended up agreeing. Sasuke vaguely remembered the relief he felt when she said that she had stopped the bleeding, and that the man would probably make it. He was so glad that he almost instantly fell asleep. All the pressure of the day left him, and he felt so eased.

He silently looked down, to see the sleeping man. Sakura had probably given him a sedative, because his sleep was peaceful. He made no move, and neither did the two, now accomplices, who were just staring at him and occasionally at each other. When the sun rays started breaching through the windows, Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. He looked at the clock. 7:24. Itachi should be home by now, and if he wasn't, it only meant he would be home soon. Sakura understood his worried look and she stood up.

"What you do from here on is entirely up to you, Sasuke"

He looked at her, a bit desperate, but grateful too.

"I will hide him here."

The look on her face clearly suggested that she believed that to be a horrible plan, and that it would most certainly fail, but she looked at him and offered to help him with one last favor. Carry the man upstairs, so that the stiches in his stomach wouldn't tear open. She was really careful with her work, Sasuke said.

As she was leaving his house, she remained still, facing the door.

"I don't know who he is, why you did it or why I even helped you. But keep in mind, I was never here and if this ends up badly, I will not be here to support you."

"Yeah, I know. You've done plenty enough anyway, Sakura. Thank you."

The pink haired girl only nodded, hesitated a bit, as if she was about to say something more, and then left the house. The door locked behind her and Sasuke rushed to the kitchen. He washed the blood away, and threw the broken glass away. If anything, if his brother was to see any blood, he could just lie he had cut himself while cleaning the broken glass of the floor. Then, he ran up the stairs, and into his room. He locked the door behind him, thing he almost never did.

Hiding a half-dead man in your room was never, and he meant it, never, a good idea. But what was he to do? Leave him die? His room had a weird odor to it, leaves and earth, like he was outside. He figured out the man's clothes must be dirty and he was right. The white blouse he was wearing was mostly covered in mud and torn apart. It looked as if he had been running. He looked nothing like a beggar, he almost looked like some wealthy man, who just decided he has to run out of his own life. Almost. Again, he was looking into it way too much. He was just a normal man. What drove him to enter his house in the middle of the night and do all that was beyond Sasuke. He studied the man a bit. He looked like he was in his twenties, black short hair covering his dirty face. His white pale skin looked as if he rarely went outside. Sasuke quickly wondered why, but there were more pressing matters to deal with.

He went downstairs and prepared breakfast, left it on the kitchen table along with a note that announced his brother he had gone to school and that his room was locked because of the shock Itachi would have if he entered it. The last statement was not entirely a lie, it was actually not a lie at all, but Sasuke knew Itachi would most certainly assume that he trashed his room so bad and that he was afraid that his brother would be mad at him. He usually did that. Afterwards, he went upstairs and locked himself inside. His day passed, slowly, his heart started racing as he heard the entrance door opening, and then his brother's voice, annoyed, on the phone. He heard movement, and he only relaxed when the black car left the front of the house. He tried to stop the loud beatings of his heart now, the throbbing pain at the base of his neck and the sweating and swallowing that wouldn't stop. His hands were shaking. When his brother passed his room, he felt as if air got stuck in his throat, he couldn't move, he couldn't blink. Now he felt a little better. He got up, a bit dizzy and started looking at his room. It was unusually tidy. He had nothing to do until the man on his bed decided it was time to get up so he unlocked the door and cautiously went downstairs to do nothing.

He was pathetic, he went upstairs again, and this cycle repeated itself until he decided to take a shower. He was sweaty and hated that, but he felt so scared he didn't even notice it before. He walked into his room and then opened the door that leaded to the bathroom. He went inside but left the door just a bit cracked so he would notice any weird sounds or movement. He stepped into the bathtub, and as soon as the hot water started running he felt like all the pressure was gone, if only just for a second. He let the burning stream wash his worries, his fears and the sweat. He let it run over his face, caress his hair with its violent yet calming touch, and, when he felt the stinging steam burning his nostrils and the back of his throat, he finally let out a sigh of relief. He didn't care much about what was to happen, for only two minutes, he felt like not thinking at all.

A little rustle in the next room woke him up from his happy nothingness. He quickly grabbed a towel and ran it past his white and smooth skin, and the wrapped it around his waist with a fast, firm movement. He stepped slowly and peeked out into the room. The man had moved a bit and seemed awake. Was it really wise for him to be here like that? Unarmed and wearing nothing but a towel? Not that his clothes would matter that much anyway, but he was pretty sure that knife in the kitchen would make him feel way better right now. Silently, he made his way to the bed.

"Who are you?" His voice sounded calm, as if everything was under his control. That was a good thing, Sasuke thought to himself.

The man turned his head around, grunting while doing so, as if the movement itself would be the hardest thing he had ever done in his entire life. His black eyes looked like bottomless graves, he looked so tired , so defeated.

"What happened to him?" He was almost crying. "Please, tell me… is he alive?"

"Firstly, tell me, who are you? What is your name?" Again, his tone was careful, like he was talking to a mentally unstable child. "I will tell you anything you want to know in return" Big words, but he needed to know who that man was.

"My name… is Shisui"

"_Your little brother sure is adorable, isn't he, Itachi?"_

"_Keep your hands off him. Get your own, Shisui."Itachi's voice was decisive. His face looked playful to Sasuke, but he glared at the other man. _

_The both started laughing._

The memory was not vivid at all, it almost looked like it was black and white, and dark spots appeared out of nowhere, covering up their faces, the background, everything. It hurt his head to think. Who was this man? Shisui. Uchiha? His brother's face was invading his mind, young , smiling, carefree and loving. The brother Sasuke loved so much. The Itachi of his dreams. That smile was burning his eyes, and he was intoxicated with his laughter. Sasuke felt guilt again. _That _Itachi, was not _real._ Sasuke even knew he had some kind of condition, his brain would fabricate all kinds of false memories thus he felt like he had already met the person, or get feelings of deja-vu. His brain just tried to make everything easier to him. He never had the brother he wanted, therefore his brain made him think Itachi was once like that, he knew nothing of this man in his house or of his intentions, therefore his brain tried to make him feel more comfortable around him. He felt pathetic so he pushed the thought aside.

He slowly turned to the other man.

"Who. Is. Dying?" He asked, feeling the adrenaline rush through his body.

"Itachi"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Never trust a dying man

After his heart started beating again, Sasuke looked at the man. Was he stupid or something? Was Itachi REALLY dying? He felt the palms of his hands getting wet and cold and he started fretting.

The man stood up, cringing when the pain hit him hard, and put a hand over his stiches. There was no time to ask about them, and he just waited for the information to sink in the young man before him.

An ironic look took over Sasuke's face. There was no way Itachi was dying. How could he even believe this crazy man for only as much as a split second? He came there that night, saying someone was dying, yet, that morning he had seen Itachi drove off in his car, he had seen his face. This man was lying, obviously. He started laughing, because he had been so stupid, because he felt relieved, because he knew, Itachi was alright, he was safe, and he would come back to make everything go back to normal.

"You disgust me" The man said.

Sasuke paused his hysterical laughter for a second to look at him, doubtful.

"Do I?" He said, his tone bitter, biting the other man.

"He is really dying. Don't you care at all?"

"You and me, both know he is not dying. He was here this morning, your information might be a bit off. My brother is ok."

"What do you mean?" The man looked surprised. "Itachi has no car, nor a brother your age."

Ah, so that was it. They were talking about different people. Sasuke understood. He suddenly pitied the man, Shisui was it? Some Itachi was dying, somewhere, in this world, and Sasuke felt pain hit his mind as the idea was sinking in. Itachi could die too. At any given time. His loving brother could be hit by a car right that moment, and Sasuke wouldn't know. His gentle, caring older brother, the only one Sasuke wanted to see smile. The only one Sasuke wanted acceptance from. He wanted to help Shisui, he really did. But even though he could have somehow ignore the fact that man was a complete stranger that entered his house at 3 in the morning, Itachi would be worried, and it'd be a stupid thing to do. He couldn't help Shisui's friend, and he did plenty already. More than enough in fact! It was all Shisui's fault for entering his house like that and getting stabbed.

"I can't help you. I would do it, if I could, but I am sorry." It was for the best. Having an unknown man in your house like that was already dangerous enough. Why wasn't he just kicking the man out? What was wrong with him?

"I understand, you have your reasons. I will go now."

Sasuke felt the relief wash over him, but at the same time, he regretted leaving the man like that, stabbed, dirty and with a dying friend. And to top it off, he was the one who stabbed him.

"Come downstairs, I'll give you some food, and you will leave then, ok?" Sasuke turned to leave the room, without waiting an answer. He knew the man wouldn't refuse. He looked hungry.

The footsteps behind reassured him that Shisui was following him, right a few seconds later. They were silent, no one had to know what the other wanted. Sasuke opened the refrigerator, and the cold air hit his face, the sound tickled his ears and he grabbed some food. Some ham, some eggs, whatever could be easily eaten and deposited. Also, something that wouldn't go bad fast.

He turned around to ask the man if he wanted anything in particular, and then he heard it. The sound reached him before anything else. He heard a loud noise, as if something got hit by an incredibly strong force. He then felt the sharp pain at the back of his neck and his world went blank…

His head hurt. It hurt so bad, that even thinking hurt. What had happened? He wasn't sure he knew, and even if he did, he wasn't sure he wanted to remember. But he wasn't the one to decide. Memories slowly returned to him, it started to feel natural, forgetting and then remembering. Was he damaged? Was there something wrong with his brain? Maybe something got tangled up in there, and now that bastard hitting him couldn't have done any good.

He got up. He opened his eyes. Darkness greeted him. He felt the soft purring of an engine and he immediately recognized the smell of leather and perfume. His brother's perfume. He was in Itachi's BMV. But why was he blindfolded? Where were they headed to?  
"It's ok. I won't hurt you"

Shisui's voice filled the car. So that was it. He knew without getting any explanation that Shisui had probably threatened his brother, and got his hands on his BMV and what not.

He let his head sink into the soft chair. He was restrained with the seat belts and sitting on the back seats, laid down with his hands tied at his back. His wrists felt as though they had been tied too tight for way too long, and his fingers felt funny and cold. Actually, now that he thought about it, everything hurt. His right shoulder was aching and burning, as if the skin had been peeled off, and that burning sensation crept lower, even though it felt weaker, it was still everywhere in his right arm. His chest felt tight and air barely made it in, and he felt this lack of oxygen with all his body. Sweat was running down his forehead, and it made his hair stick to his face. When did he last took a shower again? He couldn't really remember, but he had the feeling it was not long ago. Was it right before that fucking asshole hit him? Might have been.

Thinking about that made his heart race again. He felt blood being violently pushed into his body, he was tense and he heard a low ringing in his ears.

He was afraid, and he was cursing himself for being stupid enough as to feel sorry for that bastard. But he just had the feeling that the man was not simply a thief. He felt as though the two of them were not complete strangers, he remembered _something_. But then again memories , probably fake too, didn't keep him away from being hit with a frying pan and kidnapped by the man. Such a stereotype…

"_Don't cry, Sasuke"_

That was right. It was Itachi he was talking about. Itachi's car would certainly have some tracking device. Itachi was going to save him. He felt no fear, he knew Itachi would come for him. After all, this is what big brothers are for.

_The screaming, the screaming just wouldn't stop… so many tears, so many people. Why were they so terrified? What scared them so much? Sasuke couldn't understand. What was the red colour, covering everything? What was the burning smoke? Why was there smoke? Why were people running, desperately trying to save themselves… from what? _

_He was on the ground, his small and white hands touching the floor. He looked at them, and water seemed to cover them… water… more water. Where was it coming from? He lifted a hand. His face was wet too. A loud scream distinguished itself from the rest. It was his mother, screaming out his name, but it died out really fast, too fast for Sasuke. He had no time to trace the scream to the location of his mother and then…_

_A firm grip on his arm, pulling him up._

"_Don't look, Sasuke, your brother is here"_

"_Itachi… what happened… to your face?"_

He woke up abruptly. That dream still haunted him. He knew, he knew very well, that in spite of all the therapy sessions, in spite of everything the doctors said, the memory would never leave him. But he tried, really hard in fact, to show nothing of all the pain it caused him. He could never show the pain to the people around, he could not sadden his brother, so now, the only place for him to feel like that, were his dreams, his sleep.

"Are you awake?"

Great. He ignored the voice, and kept still. He only now realized that the car was not moving anymore. Did they get to their destination? Was that Itachi here?

"I know you are awake… that question was simply me being courteous"

He felt the man pulling him out of the car. How came he didn't notice his wrists were now the only restrained part of his body? It might have been because of the soreness that took over him, numbing him, and making it really hard to distinguish what was tied and what was not.

He stumbled on his feet and waited for the man to take off his blindfold. Why was that even needed? It wasn't like Sasuke was going anywhere to give away secret information, and even if he did, he doubted Shisui and his friend had any secret base to hide.

Once the rag covering his eyes was off, light hit him, but not as hard as he had expected. It was morning. The sun was timidly rising and embracing him with its gentle light. The road they were on was on the side of a forest, and probably somewhere in the mountains, the left side of the driveway being surrounded with pine trees and the right side a steep, rocky slope. The air was so clean that Sasuke almost liked this place, the smell of the trees was smoothly mixing with the pure perfume of the grass. The wind was cold and refreshing, biting into his scarred flesh and taking away his headache.

"I'm sorry about your arm" Shisui said while looking down and kicking some of the small rocks and dust from the side of the road. "I just had to drag you to the car on my own, while being afraid that I'll probably get shot… We'll have to go on foot from here. Your brother will probably follow us, and we couldn't advance with a car here anyway."

"What stupid reason makes you even think that I'd ever follow you?"

"Your life depends on me now. You know nothing about our whereabouts, and even if your brother found the car, I could kill you at any given time…" The man's voice was dripping with remorse. It was hard to think this was what he had planned all along, but then again, Sasuke would have never thought Shisui would hit his head with a frying pan him like that. People just couldn't be trusted anymore those days… or maybe it was just the fact that Sasuke easily overlooked the fact that, the person he took pity on, was a weird man that broke into his house at night…

"And I assume your plan went perfectly" He said.

"Look, whatever you might think, this was NOT my plan. I never wanted this, but now I can see hope in you. You can save him. You saved me too!"

"If you think that will save your friend, you are dead wrong" Sasuke said, feeling that the situation was a bit more in control. This man depended on him. "I was not the one who saved you! You are just an ignorant bastard! I can't do shit about your friend. He will die. This is the truth." He was frustrated, tired, annoyed and a bit angry at himself for being this pathetic. Wasn't he in control just a few seconds ago? What was this sudden anger that took over him? Why did he feel the need to make the man miserable, even if it cost his life? But whatever had to be done, would be done, and this was his only chance anyway. He would tell the man everything, rob him of his hope, and then, maybe, he could escape this nightmare…

"Trust me, you can pray for a miracle, but I can't and won't help your friend."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Lies and medicine

Shisui's eyes were a direct link to his soul. There was nothing to shield him from the world at that point. He was desperate, he was scared, but most of all, he was hopeless. His friend couldn't really be beyond any help. This boy, right here, would help him. He could do something! He just had to believe that, so he tried really hard to calm himself down. He took a few subtle deep breaths and then looked Sasuke in the eyes. Whether Sasuke could help or not, Shisui had the medicine he needed, now all that was left was to talk the boy into helping, even if he was actually honest and knew nothing about treating people.

"I have all that I need, you are just my insurance that nothing will happen to me or my friend."

Sasuke was already at the end of his powers. Nothing would have worked on that man at that point, and he knew it, he just refused to believe his friend would die, he completely denied that possibility. But Sasuke also knew that, when his friend would die, it'd be his chance to get away so, when Shisui told him to move and guided him through the thick forest, he made no complaints. They left in a hurry, not before pushing the car over the side of the road so that they would be harder to find. All that time, Sasuke had to constantly remind himself, that that was not his time to act…

"Look, once he's all better, you can go back home" Shisui said, after a long period of being silent.

Sasuke only laughed silently. He believed nothing of all that. He just continued his way behind Shisui, taking each step carefully, avoiding wet and slippery roots, and trying, as much as possible, to stay clean and not step into the little water puddles.

The silent sound of the rustling leaves was gently surrounding them, and nothing else was to be heard. Not even birds, nothing. Just silence and green. Green leaves, and grass and moss, covering the trees, and the greenish light that was piercing through the blanket of branches and leaves, making the view surreal.

It wasn't a bad place to die, Sasuke randomly thought to himself. It looked almost magical. He was sure such a place would make even Itachi smile. Itachi's smiles were really rare those days, and somehow, they felt different. The smiles Sasuke adored, was the ones before _the incident_. Back in those days, Itachi used to smile in a way that seemed surreal. His perfect features would just form the most incredible smile, and, most of all, his eyes would open, like some veil was being lifted, a passage to his heart. And his heart was not a cold, desolate and sad place, as most people thought. There was more to it than that, if only people were given a look inside. But people were superficial, and never really cared. Only Sasuke cared. And only he was rewarded with seeing a tiny bit of Itachi's soul. His mind was a completely different matter though. He never seemed to want to share anything with Sasuke, and he treated him like a child all the time. It was infuriating for Sasuke. He remembered wishing that Itachi would treat him differently. And his wish came true. Itachi smiled more often now, he treated Sasuke like he was almost an adult. But something was missing, and Sasuke couldn't really put his finger on it. Something was, indeed, different. Did _that_ affect Itachi to this extent?

"Watch your steps." Shisui's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Sasuke looked around. He heard the man, yet he was nowhere in sight. He looked down, to his feet, saw Shisui, and noticed the path was descending sharply. Shisui was already impossible to notice, if he looked straight ahead. Sasuke did as Shisui suggested and concentrated on his steps. One, two… twenty three. Where were they headed to? Twenty nine… thirty eight. Did Shisui even know the right way? Should he be afraid? Of course he should… he was following a possibly mental deranged, unknown man into a forest. Did he mention the man was crazy?

They kept walking for a long time, the silence was breath taking. It engulfed Sasuke, sucked him of his energy, yet, calmed him, took all of his worries away. Slowly, Shisui and all the problems he had caused, disappeared. It was just him, the silence and stillness of the forest. He didn't even notice the sun slowly setting, and the forest slowly getting darker and darker by second. He didn't even notice the dull pain in his limbs, or the stinging and burning ache in his feet, until, it suddenly became unbearable. It was like torture. Shisui also seemed in pain, his movement was slower and had lost its elegance. He looked like a wounded cat, cautious, ambitious. He was not going to stop. Sasuke wouldn't either. He was not that weak. He could take it, so he endured the feeling that he was dragging his legs, and that he had weights attached to them, getting heavier by second. The calmness of the forest was not asphyxiating. It made him weak, it made him vulnerable, it make him angry. He wanted nothing more than to punch Shisui in the face, and probably kill his friend right in front of him, with his own two hands…

Too much time had passed before Shisui spoke again, the forest was completely dark, and now he had to stick infuriatingly close to the man in order to not get lost in the heart of the woods. He just had the weird feeling something was off. Like… oh no, it couldn't have been.

"We're here." Shisui announced.

Sasuke looked around. Trees, nothing special. Shisui took a few more steps, and so did Sasuke, and, now he could see it. A small clearing, still sprinkled with trees, that had a small cottage on the far left side. Impressive, Sasuke thought to himself, more than he had hoped to find at least.

"He is inside. You can't enter the place, so I'll bring you a few blankets. We'll both sleep outside."

"Is he too delicate for my hateful glares?" Sasuke retorted ironically. This man was seriously going to make him sleep outside, just a few meters away from something that could have been just as well a house. Shisui looked at him, but said nothing. He pointed to a tree pretty far from the cottage, and took Sasuke there. He tied him to the tree and disappeared from his sight.

Sasuke was wondering if this is how all big philosophers started. Having nothing to do, and being in perpetual danger of losing their lives. He didn't really care though. Of course, he was mad, if he could somehow get himself freed, he'd probably beat the hell out of the men, however delicate or wounded they were. But his hands were tightly tied, and he was sure that, even if he tried really hard, he couldn't have gotten free of his restraints that night, so he just let himself sleep.

"_Itachi… what happened… to your face?_

_In the midst of smoke and tears, Itachi's face was different. Sasuke couldn't tell how, besides the scars on the right side, deep and full of blood. Was he really Itachi? Sasuke looked around, for the first time seeing his surroundings. Fire, smoke and, most of all, blood. Everything was red, the walls were lit red, the floor was dripping blood, the screams were red and so was his brother's face. _

_He then saw it. His parents, on the floor, lying in the middle of the room, nothing more than a motionless and bloody pile of flesh, lifeless."_

These dreams just wouldn't leave him, they were there, the dark side of his life, the secrets he felt creeping, trying to reach his conscious mind, trying to shatter his life, trying to take away his sanity, or what was left of it.

He knew he was pushing _something _aside now. He just felt it. As just as sure as he was that there was something more to everything, he was decided he might not want to know. It might have made him better, but it might have just as well throw him into the deepest pits of despair, and Sasuke was sure that if that was to happen, he couldn't hang on to the things he did before. He was sure his already fucked up life, would somehow, take a turn for the worst, for the impossible and the unbearable, so he decided he would deceive himself, he would lie, for as long as he could, because he needed this.

For the first time in the last couple of days, Sasuke woke up, knowing exactly where he was, and what had happened to him. The only thing that surprised him was the sight of the opening in the daylight. It was blinding, tiring, too much light seemed to flood the little space, it seemed to overflow. It was a totally different feeling than when he was in the forest. He felt powerless. He couldn't even explain it himself, but it was just that way.

Shisui was not too far, he was looking at the trees on the opposite side of the clearing, and seemed to talk to them. The second Sasuke moved, he turned to face him, and after a movement that looked too much like a nod to Sasuke, he started moving towards him.

"Did you sleep well?" Sasuke said nothing, and just kept staring blankly at the man. "Of course, of course, you must be mad… and oh, hungry!" He just ignored the death glare Sasuke gave him, as if it was something he usually saw and pulled a small white and black bar out of his pocket. It was a cereal bar. He tore the wrapping paper and set it close to Sasuke's mouth, but the boy made no move besides turning his head into the opposite direction. Shisui sighed and stood up. "If you are hungry, call for me." He then hurried towards the house and picked up the bag with food and medicine he had acquired previously from the tall grass. He searched something, and, once he found it, he entered and didn't leave the house for the next few hours.

Sasuke was dead set on not accepting any food. He was set on dying here, his pride still intact, rather than being fed a cereal bar by some freak, so he endured, he resisted each and every of Shisui's attempts at feeding him for the next day. The man seemed worried, so his offers became more frequent, he tried to talk Sasuke into eating, he tried to make him speak, he even tried to force him to eat, but Sasuke would just spit everything out, and , in the end, Shisui realized he didn't have enough food to waste on failed attempts at making Sasuke eat.

This was for the best, Sasuke told to himself. He would stop being a bother and, most of all, he felt like he could get rid of his never ending guilt. He would stop regretting every day the fact that he wanted his brother to change, and, instead of his brother, he got a shell. And he regretted thinking this, because Itachi was such a good person, yet, he just felt empty in some way, a way Sasuke couldn't understand. He knew the only thing he was supposed to feel was gratitude, but he felt regret, for his brother turning out the way he did, and for all his incompetence. It was for the best…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Void

"No, this is pointless! Don't move!...it's already this way… stop!" Sasuke could hear fragments of a fight, coming from the shed. He didn't particularly care about what the fight's purpose was, but it kept him from thinking about the hunger.

How long has it been since he refused food? Too long. He was not used to being hungry, and this was torment. Every small bit of him, every cell, everything wanted to scream out Shisui's name and ask for food. It hurt, he couldn't think and he was barely awake. He felt his heart beating loudly inside his chest, he felt his head pulsating. What was keeping him from asking for food again? Ah, that was it. His pride. That was it. It was better this way. He was going to die soon anyway, and even if he were to scream at that time, he probably couldn't. But he would never ask for food, what was he even thinking? He had to concentrate, and soon, very soon, he would be no more. And together with him, would fade the pain and angst and all the feelings of not being good enough…

Sasuke was looking deep into a void. Nothing was there to be seen, yet he felt captivated, imprisoned, he wanted to look. The nothingness was all he had ever wished for, whenever he felt he should just die. He was staring death in the eyes, he was nothing, and was also lost into nothing. The blankness, the darkness of that barren place, a place for death and nothing more, felt fascinating…

It took Sasuke long, too long, to realize that, he was in fact staring a man into the eyes. The dead and empty space he had just been lost into was nothing more than a pair of eyes. Enchanting, heavenly, black-grayish eyes were looking at him, stripping him away of his pride, of his masks, staring down into his soul and trapping him inside of them, inside the hollows of the death. Sasuke had never been a religious person, he was in fact pretty skeptical in any matters regarding religion, but, in spite of all that, he wanted to think that what he was seeing right now was his angel. A man who fell from heavens, just so he could bring Sasuke his peace. But no, the man was no saint, he could see it in his eyes, in the sadistic and ironic look, mocking Sasuke, making him feel despair and anger, with no real reason. This man was a devil. A horrific and abominable being, wanting nothing more than to see Sasuke suffer, a monster in the body of a man. He had seen that look before, but, unlike then , unlike Itachi, who would never look at him that way, this man was piercing him with his glare, showing him no mercy.

He barely noticed the man was feeding him the bar of cereals he so hatefully refused before, but he didn't care. That man had the thing Sasuke wanted. That man had everything and nothing, that man had the anesthetic that Sasuke wanted, the nonentity he so desired…

Now that he felt better and that his head had cleared a bit, together with the hunger and the pain, Sasuke felt anger. He was still outside, tied to the same tree, but he was not alone with Shisui anymore. A third person was now present, talking to Shisui near the shed.

Sasuke felt angry for giving out that way, for eating just because he felt captivated. Just because he felt his need of nothingness was temporarily satisfied. He hated himself, the fact that he was weak and pathetic and, most of all, he hated the man. He hated those deep eyes, those black, long and elegant lashes, that white and smooth skin, crossed only by two deep cuts, generating from under his eyes and continuing to his cheeks, cuts that looked natural, like a part of him. He despised the fact that, no matter how much he gazed at the man, he still looked devilish, perfect, deadly. The way he walked, the way he talked, the way his slim, well-built and slender body seemed to radiate nothing but elegance and perfection. Even his long and silky hair, with its uncommon and peculiar dark gray color, fell onto his back and shoulders, trying to escape from its restraints, a red , improvised thread that was keeping it all together, seemed to defy Sasuke and all he ever believed in. He was just standing there, glowing with perfection, captivating Sasuke and , the boy guessed, probably anyone that was around him, by simply being around them. It was not fair. He didn't try at all, he was just everything anyone would want and for this, Sasuke hated the man even more.

It was a funny thing. Itachi. This name seemed to suit him more than it ever suited his brother, and, to him, Itachi was the perfect name for no one but for his older brother. This man, he gave the impression that the name was just his, he was the only Itachi in the world, and suddenly Sasuke felt stupid for calling him "some random Itachi". There was no one like this. He was the sole Itachi this world needed. It was just torture to be around him, to notice how that kind of thought slowly creep into your mind, just because he was around, just because he was perfection.

Itachi slowly turned to face him. His eyes were empty, yet, it looked as if he was searching for something, deep inside of Sasuke's mind, something not even Sasuke himself knew. The raven haired boy glared, detested the man in each possible way, all of it through a stare and, he hoped with all of his heart and soul that the man felt the true intensity of his hate. But all Itachi did was turn around and talk to Shisui. Sasuke did the same, the turned to stare at the sky and was ready for another boring day, when, his view was shadowed by Shisui's face.

"Eat. Please, don't try to do that anymore. We'll take you back. You will be fine. So please."

Sasuke believed nothing, so he just ignored the man. He would not eat like a pet, not out of his free will, anyway. Shisui stood there, staring at him hopelessly for a long time, and then, _he _spoke.

"Let me deal with him, Shisui." His voice was velvet, his voice was emery, and Sasuke could feel his anger rising. He was boiling up.

Shisui stepped aside, and, after watching them doubtful for a few seconds, he decided to leave their line of sight. Sasuke was ready to spit the food right out of his mouth, in case Itachi forced him to eat, he would have even liked to spit it on Itachi, to make that perfection miserable, but, to his amazement and disbelief, Itachi untied him, freed him of his shackles and handed him the food. Sasuke started laughing, ironically.

"You won't even let me have a little pride, you did the last thing anyone would have expected, just to make me miserable. How can you live with yourself?" Sasuke found himself talking, shocking Itachi and himself. He wasn't sure what he meant himself, and sure as hell he won't talk again. He just silently chewed on his food and, when he was done and felt some power build up inside of him, he stood up.

He was not as tall as Itachi was, but the difference was insignificant. He looked at Itachi, and he returned the look, but the way they were looking at each other was completely man was studying him as if he were some kind of animal in a cage, and that infuriated Sasuke. It made him see red, that arrogance, that superiority, the way he looked at him… it made him sick.

He threw himself ahead, punching Itachi's face, trying to damage his perfection, all that time, staring deep inside his desolate eyes…

* * *

**Author's Note:** Although I am doing this just because I enjoy it, I still want to get better at it, so any suggestions would be highly appreciated. Thank you! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Let me hate you

The pain he felt was nothing like he had ever experienced before. It was excruciatingly painful, it was driving him crazy. His wounds were on fire, his veins were being poured melted iron into, he wanted to scream but he couldn't, he wanted to move but even if he could have managed to escape his restraints, he doubted he remembered how to move anymore, he doubted the pain would allow him to make any move besides mindless spasms from time to time. All this time though, a voice kept calling him, calling his name, desperately trying to keep him there.

Once the pain started to slowly but surely fade away, Sasuke started concentrating on other things. The small, uncomfortable bed with no sheets he was tied to, the small window at his left, letting just enough light enter for him to see his body. He was cut and bruised and looked as though he made the worst decision of his life and did something like roll around on barbed wire. He could see Shisui's silhouette above him, arranging all kinds of bottles. So that was what was happening. Shisui disinfected his wounds. But how did he even get those wounds?

_One hit, two, he hoped Itachi's face was damaged, but he needed more. He wanted to beat the man more, make him feel even more pain, he wanted the man on the ground, suffering. He didn't even know what those urges were, but he followed them. For as long as he could at least._

_ Sasuke felt a strong grip on his shoulder and, the hand shook him violently, before turning him around. The man whose face greeted Sasuke was massive, looked like the kind of person you never want to deal with, but, most of all, he was… blue. _

_ Sasuke didn't have much time to contemplate about the color of the man, since the next thing he knew was that his jaw hurt and then he felt another sharp pain coming from his nose, and a new one, coming from his ribs, and so on... He barely noticed the blood flowing from his nose and mouth, he could taste it though. The salty and sickeningly thick liquid was chocking him and filling his mouth, nostrils and lungs. He couldn't breathe…_

Fear shot through him. Who was that man? He scanned his surroundings again. He looked for the man, the blue man? He felt confused. Why would anyone be blue? His memory must have played some kind of trick on him, probably Itachi just beat the hell out of him, and this was his brain's way of coping with the defeat, believe he had been ambushed by some other man. He felt even worse, knowing that. He noticed Shisui had started to untie him, and he felt like laughing.

"Will you let me free now? Now that you both know Itachi can beat me close to death?" He was bitter, he hated it and wanted to get revenge.

"What do you mean? Itachi wasn't the one who did this to you. Don't you remember?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. So, did that mean, his dream was true? There was a third man? He suddenly felt better, knowing he was not some sore loser, trying to erase a defeat from his memory. The fact that the man was blue could just be a result that came from him being hit in the head multiple times in such a short amount of time.

"Who was he?" Sasuke felt curious. "Where was he all this time?"

"Come with me" Shisui said and led Sasuke to the door of the shed. He cracked it open and, on the far north side, under the shadow of a tree he saw Itachi, laying with his eyes closed and face bruised, near a man, a massive man, a… blue man.

"What the…" Sasuke turned to Shisui, and the question was obvious in his eyes_. Is he really blue, or am I just imagining it?_

"He is the one, as you can probably see, and yes, he _is_ blue." He looked Sasuke in the eye, to make sure the boy believed him. "He has a condition named methaemoglobinaemia." He turned to Sasuke and smiled a bit. "No, no one will expect you to remember that name, he himself probably doesn't remember, but you see, I am just good with long...words" Shisui started laughing then, a real laugh. "Sorry. I just couldn't help it"

Sasuke didn't mind. It was in fact relaxing, hearing a real laugh, even if it was coming from the guy you wanted to kill so much, but he knew that since he was not restrained anymore, any attempt at doing something like that would most certainly kill him.

"What is that condition all about? Also, were you that scared that I could do something to you that you had to hide him as a trump card?" Sasuke felt arrogance flood his body.

"His name is Kisame, and he just hates being around people, even more so unknown people. He just likes to hang around Itachi and, after I brought the medicine, he just walked around, trying to get us something to eat. And, basically, his condition is just a disorder caused by too much methemoglobin in his blood, this leading to a lower carrying capacity for the oxygen in his blood, therefore, his skin turned blue. Not really pretty, but it is interesting to look at, don't you think?" Shisui looked at Sasuke, but he didn't answer.

This time he was looking at Itachi. His face was bruised, his lip was split at the right bottom corner, and he had a long and deep cut right near his right eye. Funny thing how his right side was more damaged since Sasuke was right handed and should have hit his left side harder. But what bothered him was something else. He managed to ruin Itachi's perfection for a while, but then why, why was he sitting there, enjoying the breeze and the sound of the forest like there was no tomorrow, like he felt no anger, like Sasuke didn't even matter, like he was perfect?

This man made Sasuke sick, and he just had to sit down. He turned to the bed and sat, and Shisui agreed to give him some space. It was not like he was going anywhere, anyway, with that blue brute outside. He was smarter than to try anything and throw his life at the garbage. And anyway, he was too angry and frustrated to try and make a run. Itachi made him boil, his perfect calm and ignorance to the rest of the world made Sasuke want to hit him even more. The beating he gave him before was nothing. Come to think of it, why didn't Itachi fight back? Was he afraid, was he holding back? He didn't know much about Itachi, but he was willing to bet he was not afraid, but he also wasn't the type to hold back. He tried to remember and suddenly a small piece of a memory returned to him.

"_Good Lord Kisame. You overreacted!" Shisui said while placing Sasuke on the bed._

"_I didn't. I actually did him a service. Had Itachi started hitting him, he wouldn't be here to listen to us chat."_

He now felt even worse. So he was lucky he was only beaten up _this_ much? Was Itachi to be feared physically too? Could he screw up with Sasuke this way too, not only mentally? This was infuriating, this made Sasuke hate the man more. Was there nothing in the world that he could do better than Itachi?

He stood up and threw a punch at the wall. It was not enough. He hit it again, and again, punching the wall in a sinister rhythm, scattering bloody patterns against it as his clenched fist would collide with the cold surface. He couldn't stop; he needed to relieve more of his anger. More blood covered the wall, his hand was protesting silently but violently. His bones were pressing against each other with each blow he landed, they were cracking and the sound itself was more than disgusting. He didn't stop. Only when his hand became too numb for him to even maintain his fist did he stop, fell down and pressed his forehead against the coldness of the wall. There had to be more to it than this. He knew nothing about Itachi, and yet he already decided the man was better than him. It was a stupid thing to do. Maybe Itachi was just the type of person that gives out the air of someone really good, when he is in fact just a sore and pathetic loser. Yes, that must have been it. For now, he wanted to make the man suffer, he hated the man, because he just couldn't live with himself anymore if he accepted the fact that, he already wanted to be like Itachi…

No. Sasuke finally saw something else, something else that terrified him even more than his random admiration for a completely ignorant stranger. Sasuke struggled to push the thought aside, to deny it, but he knew that now that he realized it, there was no turning back. This man, he was exactly the Itachi of his childish memories or his imagination, he had no idea which, but he was the Itachi his brother failed to be. And that scared Sasuke, made him despise himself. His brother had taken care of him for ten years, and now he felt like this person here, someone he wished he had never met, was more his brother than Itachi. This man here, even felt more familiar than his brother, and that was wrong, and Sasuke hated and hated the man. He had to hate both…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Sasuke in Madman's Land

Shisui came a few hours later to take Sasuke out of there. He stared at the wall and the blood, and the at Sasuke's fist.

"Medically, that wasn't really a wise thing to do." Sasuke looked at Shisui but said nothing. "Come on out, eat something."

Sasuke followed. He was sick of the cereal bars, but nothing could be done about that. Also he was sure that that was Itachi's place to sleep, and it was good enough he was allowed a few hours inside, while Itachi was feeding his whims and spending time outside.

It was now night and, for the first time, the cold wind made Sasuke feel cold. He shivered a bit and started walking towards the tree where Itachi and Kisame were located. He was closely following behind Shisui and, when the man sat down, only a few feet away from Itachi and Kisame, Sasuke put some more distance between them and did the same. Kisame laughed.

"The kid seems really scared. Calm down, we won't bite you!" He said while laughing and smirking, in a way that showed all of his perfect, white and sharp teeth. "In fact, Shisui, give me that food!"

Shisui seemed reluctant, but still gave the blue man what he had in his hand. In the moon's glee, Kisame looked like a shark, and the cuts on his neck, deep and old, resembled gills, and that helped nothing with the overall picture.

"If you want food, come and take it from me, kid."

Sasuke hated being called a kid, but, for the first time, he felt better. He could now take and eat his food with a bit of pride. He stood up, threw everyone in the circle a hateful look, and everyone besides Itachi seemed to see it. Itachi was just gazing into the forest. He passed by him, and felt for a second like he should punch him again, but controlled the urge. He was now standing in front of the blue man, and, when he stood up, he was one head taller than Sasuke and he was extremely well built. But, to his surprise, Sasuke couldn't care less. This man was not intimidating, he was just brute force. He grabbed whatever Kisame had in his hand and looked at it. Biscuits... cereal based, but still a nice change. He decided going all the way back to where Shisui was would just be a waste of time, and he wanted to eat, so he just sat there, but of course, he put some distance between him and Kisame. Not because he was afraid, but he hated them all. Therefore he needed some space. Kisame seemed pleased.

Sasuke tore the package's wrapper and ate two bicuits at a time, hoping no one will notice until he realized something horrible. He was now standing right in front of Itachi, and his lazy eyes were studying him. Even after their eyes met, he kept staring, like he didn't care at all that Sasuke noticed. He was just studying something and didn't care if he was observed or not. Sasuke started to feel the anger build up, but he didn't want Itachi to feel that, so he just continued to eat his biscuits, this time though, just one at a time, because there were not many left, and he wanted to enjoy them.

He noticed, only too late, that he was the only one eating. He looked at Shisui, the only one he kind of felt like looking at. The man smiled gently, understanding Sasuke's look, but Kisame started talking before Shisui could say a word.

"I hope you enjoyed your food, kid, because you won't get any more of it. It was the last edible thing we had."

Sasuke couldn't care less, about the men being hungry, but he would have rather starved like a man, not be fed like a child. But this was trivial, and he enjoyed his food nonetheless.

"We'll have to go and find something to eat. Kisame searched pretty much everything around this place and there seem to be absolutely no animals here." He handed Sasuke a bottle of water. "There seems to be a town nearby though. We could find something there. But Kisame can't go; he'd draw _way_ too much attention. Itachi is also a bad choice. So you and I should go, if you feel like you can, of course."

The answer was obvious. Sasuke put down the bottle of water and nodded.

"That won't do either." Everyone turned to Itachi. "If he decides to just scream and draw attention, you're done for, Shisui."

"What better chance do we have? I can't go alone either. And you know you can't come! God knows what will happen if you do that."

"I won't come. Go alone. You won't take him with you." Itachi's voice was ice.

"If I go alone, I will barely bring enough food for us all to live another day! I can't risk that much for almost nothing."

Shisui was desperately trying to make Itachi understand, yet the man seemed so calm and untouched by his words that Sasuke was wondering if he even listened. He could bet everyone wondered the same.

"I won't run. I know nothing of this place, and if I do indeed scream, Shisui could just stab me at any time before people actually get to help me." He said, surprising everyone, especially himself.

Now everyone was looking at Sasuke. Itachi's glare told him he was not trusted at all. Itachi was actually looking at him with eyes that were mocking his idea, but then Kisame spoke.

"We could do that. Give Shisui a knife. Not even the kids are stupid enough to risk their lives like that. This could work, Itachi."

"It will work." Shisui reassured.

"Do whatever you want; it's your life after all." He stood up to leave, but then looked at the sky. He took his jacket off and threw it to Shisui. "Give me yours. Mine has a hood. Also, you can't go now. Two people wearing black hoods would be suspicious enough in itself. It will rain soon. We can live that much without food."

"No."Kisame protested, but Itachi's look said that the topic was over. He took a few steps, and sat under a tree with his eyes closed.

Itachi seemed lost in his own world again, and Sasuke briefly wondered why he only seemed to connect with the real world from time to time. Did he think he was too good for it? What was in his mind? Sasuke realized his attempts at reading the man were pointless. He had a mask, a perfect and impenetrable one, and he was not going to take it off.

"What's your name, kid?" Kisame asked, shaking Sasuke from his thoughts.

"Do I have to tell you?"

Kisame frowned, but said nothing more.

"You can sleep inside." Shisui said, and Sasuke immediately went in. Were Itachi's whims not over yet? Did he still feel like he wanted to enjoy the nice weather? He'll be staying inside next time it rains, and Sasuke will be out, trying to get food. It seemed pretty fair. He sat on the bed and patiently waited to fall asleep.

Everything felt so peaceful and right for a few moments. Almost normal, almost being the key word. The door opened and Shisui came inside. Sasuke looked at him.

"What do you want?"

"After we get the food, we will take you back. I promise."

"Right" Sasuke retorted ironically.

"I am sorry it got to this. But don't hate anyone here. It was my fault for getting you into this after all."

"Are you protecting them?"

Shisui smiled and Sasuke was just fazed.

"A bit. They are my only family after all."

"Nice family you got there. A blue guy and a fucked up image of perfection." Sasuke stoped talking. he couldn't even believe it himself, that he had just said that. Did he just openly admitted that Itachi was indeed perfect? He felt his eyes widen. Oh God. This was horrible.

Shisui smiled again.

"Don't let it get to you. Itachi was always that way."

"It's not like I actually care. The only reason I am talking to you right now is because I don't want to get stabbed or whatnot. You people are all crazy. You make a nice family together. Can you leave now?"

Shisui said nothing more but quietly left. Things were getting a turn for the worst. Being abducted by a weird guy and dragged to a forest where a fucked up arrogant bastard and a blue guy piss you off constantly was horrible. Openly admitting that you considered the fucked up guy perfect was just embarrassing and stupid. For this he had no one else to hate but himself, so he did that. A loud thunder could be heard. Was it raining? He looked outside, but the clouds were just gathering above them, but no signs of rain besides that. He just went to sleep.

_Two days later_

Sasuke spent his days inside the shed, starving, and drinking enough water for three men. He was wondering how the rest could take it, but the only one he saw those days was Shisui, who was constantly guarding him from afar. He didn't see Kisame nor Itachi, but he was sure they were close.

He considered running a few times, but Shisui seemed to never sleep, and even if everyone else was hungrier than he was, he was damn sure three on one was not wise at all for the one side.

God, this was boring, he had nothing else to think about besides his hunger, and no one had talked to him at all. Not that he wanted them to do it. He hated them all. He was actually relieved to have had Itachi out of his sight for a few days. It helped him clear his mind a bit. This situation would end, and if these guys planned to keep him there, dying together with them, he would outlast them, they would die first and he could just escape. Come to think of it, why did the fed him the last pack of biscuits they had? No, it couldn't be they had planned exactly that. They were crazy after all. Sasuke was just looking too much into it. He went to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Confession Town

Sasuke woke up to the sound of Shisui calling his name. He felt tired, too tired for his own good, and hungry. Actually, hungry was an understatement. He felt like his stomach was ready to accept anything as food, and he doubted the sensation would get any better. He tried to look around the room, but, as expected, his head hurt and the room was spinning, forcing him to make a considerable effort just to distinguish Shisui in the darkness.

Sasuke even heard noise, like a jamming sound, stopping him from completely understanding Shisui. He grunted and sat up, breathing heavily. He felt sweaty, and absently wondered when was the last time he took a real shower. Again. He realized Shisui had stopped from shaking him, and he was pleased by that. The man just sat there, waiting for Sasuke to be completely awake.

"It's raining. We have to go now, or else we will probably all starve to death."

Sasuke grinned. That didn't sound that bad. All these bastards starving, he even hoped Itachi would be the one to die first. But he couldn't take it for much longer either, so he just nodded. He stood up, feeling sick and tried to find his jacket in the pile of clothes near the bed. He felt so dizzy he even had to try a few times to put it on.

"We will have to hurry. I will lead the way, but you should be careful, everything's wet and slippery."

Sasuke nodded and reluctantly followed Shisui out the door and into the pouring rain. He looked around, only to see that Itachi and Kisame were still nowhere to be found. A part of him wanted to ask where they had gone, but he just kept silent and followed Shisui. The man was right, having no flashlight or anything of that sort, they were just blindly walking across the woods. Sasuke would periodically stumble across a root or slip on it and fall down, usually getting dirt and mud onto his hands and trousers and bruising the palms of his hands. Shisui was handling walking blindly way better, but Sasuke was still wondering whether the man actually knew the way. This felt pointless and dangerous and Sasuke realized they were just that desperate as to walk in the middle of the night through a dark a few hours of walking slowly, or at least that's what Sasuke thought, the trees starter to lose their thick pattern and became scarcer. He could now distinguish the man in front of him, and he looked down to his pants, just to confirm he was all dirty. Maybe this would raise suspicion, two dirty men, wearing hoods, on a rainy night, Sasuke thought, but Shisui stopped, making Sasuke direct all his attention towards him.

"There's a road up ahead. If you follow it to the north, it will lead to the village. We should be there not long before sunrise." Shisui seemed sure that the plan would work.

"What if someone gets suspicious?"

"It's not any fancy town. I assume people usually walk around muddy and wet. But we will buy some clothes."

"Do we even have money?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"Yeah, we kind of do. I've got a bit of cash on me, and a credit card."

Sasuke realized and smiled.

"My brother's I assume."

Shisui ignored the accusation and simply started walking forward.

"We will just have to hope the card works and no one blocked the bank account."

They were both silent, and just before the first rays of sun started to lit the sky, Sasuke could distinguish the small town ahead of them. As they got closer and closer, he could see the colored, lighting boards, in front of the small shops. Those were those kinds of small shops, which were always open and sold everything you could possibly imagine.

"Do you suppose you can use the credit card and not get tracked down?"

"I don't. But I don't plan on being around here for too long either. We are desperate, that's it, I have to admit it, but we are not stupid."

Sasuke nodded. The rain was starting to get annoying, hitting his hooded face and his bare hands. He wanted to get dry. He felt dirty and cold, not to mention hungry. He was shivering. They stopped in front of a store that was painted in a faded shade or red. Sasuke was sure the shop had a name, but the board was unreadable. Shisui entered, and when he opened the door, Sasuke could hear the ringing sound of a bell. It looked like any other normal shop, but had a lot of weird sections. Cat food, second hand bicycles, clothes and so on. They grabbed a cart each, and started gathering what they needed. Naturally, both of them rushed to the food sector, and threw anything that could be preserved for a long time in the carts. Sasuke was really sick of anything that had to do with cereals, but he could see Shisui stuffing his cart with those. Looking around, Sasuke could see a lot of sweets and, in a moment of weakness, indulged himself and grabbed some.

After both of them were sure they took all the food they could carry, Sasuke headed to the clothing sector. He needed some clean clothes. He looked thorough them and grabbed a plain pair of jeans and a blue blouse. He then randomly wandered the store, taking whatever he might have needed, and waited for Shisui in front of the cashier.

"Horrible weather, huh?" The man at cash register said.

"Yes. I can't believe our bad luck. It's the first time for us in this town. We went hiking and sightseeing. I'm afraid we were expecting a more welcoming weather. We didn't even bring proper hiking equipment." Shisui smiled as he nonchalantly chatted back.

"Yes. Are you here on foot?"

"No, but our car has some problems right now. Our friends are trying to fix it."

"Oh, I see." The man smiled back. He looked as if he had heard the same story again and again. His blue eyes were tired and pushed back into the sockets, and the small wrinkles around them accentuated this. "How will you pay?"

"I've got some cash. But I can pay with a credit card for the rest."

After the man gave Shisui back his credit card, they both grabbed the bags and rushed towards the exit. Shisui seemed a bit tense now.

"I suggest we hurry now. Can you carry all those?"

"Yeah, no problem." Sasuke said, but, in fact, he feared he wouldn't be able to, tired and dizzy as he was, he felt completely drained.

They rushed back to the road, and when the town was out of sight Shisui stopped. He put the bags down and sat.

"You should eat something."

"Won't you eat as well?"

"No, I will eat with the rest." Shisui said and smiled just a bit.

"I'll do the same." Sasuke said and they both went silent. He looked at the palms of his hands. They were red and small cuts started forming on them, partially from falling in the woods, and partially from carrying the bags. He didn't complain though. This was his food. But he was sure as hell he'd make the rest be grateful to him for carrying _their_ food. He looked at the watch he had just purchased. It was almost 1 PM. He looked back at Shisui and they both stood and grabbed their bags. They spent the following 8 hours walking towards where Itachi and Kisame were.

"Look, I want you to know that I am somehow grateful to you." Shisui said right before the two of them arrived at their destination.

Sasuke was dirty, tired and felt the cold rain water that was drenching him freeze his bones. He didn't feel like chatting at all.

"Grateful? Please don't tell me you think I am helping you or anything. I have told you before, you people are crazy. This is just preservation instinct. I want to live, so I am cooperating. Simple as that." Sasuke said, in a cold, emotionless voice. He wasn't going to make the man feel better for abducting him and starving him like that. If Shisui thought this would somehow grant him forgiveness, he was dead wrong.

"I know." Shisui said as if he was expecting that answer. "That doesn't change the fact that we'd have been dead without you, even if you hate us or want us dead too." He smiled.

"So, does that mean you owe me?"

"I wouldn't say it like that, but I guess I kind of do, if you think about it."

"Do I get to ask questions?" Sasuke said, eager to see the extent of Shisui's thankfulness and get his answers at the same time.

"If you are absolutely sure you want to know. I guess you deserve that much."

"Why were you in my house?"

"That, I can't really answer." Shisui smiled guilty.

"What can you answer then?" Sasuke said, losing his interest. If his answers came in small, unclear bits, he was better off without them.

"I am not really sure."

"Forget it for now then."

"As you wish."

They both kept walking, and, when they got to the clearing, the rain started pouring even harder. Sasuke looked towards the shed and, near it, he could see a silhouette, motionless and looking towards them. Shisui started walking really fast and Sasuke followed. As he got closer, he recognized the unmistakable figure. It was Itachi and behind him, around the corner of the shed, sat Kisame.

"Are you both crazy? Itachi, you know you can't stay outside in the rain like this." Shisui turned to Kisame. "How stupid are you? How can you just let this idiot to his own devices."

"You know I didn't have a say in it." Kisame said, looking frustrated.

Shisui sighed and turned to Itachi to ask why he was standing out there and Itachi's answer came as a shock to Sasuke.

"You had my jacket. I had to be sure nothing happened to it." Itachi said and then walked past both of them. "Now that I know the jacket is fine, I'll go inside."

For the first time, Sasuke was sure that Itachi was lying, and his lie amazed Sasuke. For the first time, he felt like, underneath that cold and emotionless mask Itachi had actually been worriend. Worried enough to stand outside in the rain for God knows how long. This man was a mystery. And it also made Sasuke have so many mixed emotions. He felt captivated, and hated Itachi because of that. He wanted to know more, yet he feared he would resent learning anything about the man. He might have even feared that he couldn't hate Itachi anymore, after getting to know him, and that drove him insane.

Sasuke and the rest followed inside. Sasuke got his clothes out of the bag and went to the corner of the room to change. This room was not big enough for all of them, and Kisame's grin made him feel even more uncomfortable. He just turned around and ignored it as he felt the dry and silky fabric caress his skin. It felt incredibly warm. He looked back. Everyone was soaked, but he had only bought clothes for him. He felt a bit of remorse, but that was washed away the second Shisui pulled out clothes for everyone. Sasuke sat on the bed and strangely looked at Itachi as the man took off Shisui's jacked and his own clothes, in his elegant manner, revealing his well build, slender figure. Cold shievers hit Sasuke as he realized he was staring, and turned around violently.

"Wah, way better!" Kisame announced in a loud voice. His white shirt was the type of shit that would stretch to fit an elephant and his pants were baggy and brown. He looked rough, maybe even funny. Itachi and Shisui were different matters however. They were both wearing the same tight, black jeans and a dark red blouse. They all started eating, the finally real food that they bought for just today and they all enjoyed it, since they knew they wouldn't get any of that anytime soon.

When they were done, Itachi sat up.

"What are you doing?"

"I am going outside."

Sasuke looked at Itachi in amazement. Was he insane? Going out right now was utterly stupid and would do no one no good.

"No, you are not." Shisui said, like a really caring mother, who was just witnessing a moment of craziness from her son.

"I don't think the kid wants all the fucked up people gathered near him." Itachi said, his voice sounding just a bit softer.

Everyone started at Sasuke and Sasuke was sure that if he could, he would have stared at himself too. Did Itachi actually say that? Sasuke felt dizzy. Did Itachi actually offered to do that for Sasuke's _sake_? No, that was impossible.

"I don't mind." He said coldly. "One more crazy guy among the rest won't make a difference."

Itachi smiled gently. He smiled. Sasuke was fazed, and couldn't even move. It was a fast, almost imperceptible gesture, but he did indeed smile. But Sasuke was sure no one else noticed, since Shisui and Kisame were staring at Sasuke. He felt weird, seeing Itachi like that. He felt so different. What had changed? Was Itachi actually different, or was Sasuke just too damn tired?

"Well, it's settled them." Shisui said, and then curled up on the floor and fell asleep really fast.

Sasuke tried to concentrate and remain awake, think about that day, about Itachi's change, about how he was sure he saw through his cold exterior, but shortly after, he too fell asleep, drained by that day's events.

He was not sure when, but at some point in the night, he had a really weird, brief dream. He saw nothing, only heard Itachi's voice.

"One more guy won't make a difference you said. But you know nothing." He then heard the man chuckle and drifted deeper into his dreams while listening to the sweet, soothing sound.


	9. Chapter 9

**AU:** I realzied recently that this story might be a bit unpolished, it is my first one after all, but I decided I will not drop it, only update it on a not so regular basis. Also this might get a rewrite. Enjoy and review:)

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Chapter 9: Name

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The next day, Sasuke woke up rested and, to his amazement, alone. He sat up and took a few steps just to find himself stumbling across something. He fell down and turned around to see his obstacle. It was Kisame, curled up near his bed. He was not exactly alone. He stood up and opened the door. The rain had stopped and now the chill air was refreshing. He looked around and saw Itachi and Kisame talking and seeming rather cheerful. He headed in their direction. Not that he wanted their company, Sasuke told himself, but he was just bored.

"Ah, good morning." Shisui said when he noticed Sasuke.

"Yeah, you too." Sasuke responded. Itachi just looked at him. "You owe me some answers." He said bluntly shocking the men and himself.

"Uhm, yeah. Sure" Shisui said confused.

"Why were you in my house? I don't care if you can or not answer. You owe me."

"Yeah… I guess I do." He looked at Itachi and he nodded. "Itachi lived there. Due to… some certain events, we assumed no one will be living there. So when we needed help, he told me to go there and get whatever I need to help him, if there was still anything left in the house."

"Lived there? When?"

"Up until a few months ago at most, I am not really sure." Shisui said.

Sasuke laughed. He was being mocked again.

"I actually believed you when you said you'd answer me."

"That is what I am doing!" Shisui retorted.

"Then why mock me?" He said bitterly and ironically.

"I'm not doing that. Why think that?"

"Because I have lived there, in that house, for my entire life, the last seventeen years, that is why."

Itachi and Shisui both froze. They looked amazed, and, while Itachi's face slowly regained his composed expression, Shisui still remained speechless. He blinked a few times, and looked at Itachi.

"How? Are you telling the truth? No, you can't. That's impossible." Shisui was laughing now too. The kind of bitter laugh Sasuke had before.

"I am telling the truth. Me and my brother have been living there on our own for the past ten years. The guy you stole from, you remember him, right?"

Shisui looked like he wanted to talk, but Itachi interrupted.

"Why only the two of you?"

"Our parents died." Sasuke said dry.

"Died?" Itachi asked.

"If you must absolutely know, they were killed. Are you done questioning me now?"

"No." Itachi said.

Sasuke wanted to tell him to just leave him alone, and that he won't answer anything else, but Itachi's eyes were burning him, and he just _had_ to answer.

"What's your brother's name?"

"Why do you care?"

"Tell me." Itachi said, his voice imperious.

"His name is Itachi."

He could hear Shisui gasp and everyone went silent. Itachi simply walked away, and later the other man followed. Those two jerks played him, and answered nothing. How could he even trust them, was still making Sasuke feel stupid. He just sighed and put the matter aside. Now that all this had happened Sasuke was left with nothing else to do for the rest of the day, so he just went to sleep as fast as he could.

_"This is ridiculous." He heard his brother whisper in an annoyed tone. "He's just a child, for God's sake! Who would do such a thing?!"_

_ "What if it is true?" Shisui said. "What then?"_

_ "I will stop it then!"_

_ "You can't! How would doing what you want do any good to him?! Think rationally!"_

_ Sasuke looked down, at his small palms, and ran to Itachi's room. He peaked through the crack of the door. His brother was there, younger, and another man was standing near him. It was Shisui, Sasuke recognized him immediately._

_ "We have to do something… Sasuke." Itachi turned to the door. Sasuke stepped back embarrassed when the door opened and Itachi was looking at him with a gentle smile on his face. He sighed. "Listening to other people talking is not really nice, is it?" He said smiling._

_ "I'm sorry, brother." Sasuke said pouting, which made Itachi smile even wider._

"_Come on in." His brother said softly._

"_Your little brother sure is adorable, Itachi."_

Sauske felt himself slipping back to reality. Again, his brain must have played some tricks on him. Having false memories again, dreaming about Shisui and Itachi. But what bothered him the most was that, his real brother never once appeared in his fabricated memories, it was always this man, always haunting him.

He heard whispers outside. That must have been it. He unconsciously heard them talking, so his brain just added up to his imaginary world. That _must_ have been it.

He then felt a weird feeling taking over him and as if he were a little child again he went and peeked through the door.

"It makes no sense! It can't be! He must be someone sent after us or something. They figured out we'd go there, and sent someone there to pretend to be him..."

"Now, that, makes no sense." Came Itachi's cold voice. "Why would they send someone ten years older and with absolutely no connections to him whatsoever if they wanted to be credible?"

"I… I don't know Itachi. All I know is that it can't be possible. It has only been a couple of months at best!"

"You see? You don't even have an exact idea about the amount of time we spent there! What if it actually was more? What if he is _not_ lying? What if we are the ones not telling the truth." Itachi seemed to be under a lot of pressure. Something had caused him such distress. Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. What could have been it?

"We can't know for sure."

"Yes, we can." Itachi's voice was decisive. He turned towards the shed and started walking really fast, in his elegant, cheetah-like manner.

Sasuke almost automatically jumped into the bed, and pretended to be asleep. He could hear the door banging against the wall so he fidgeted in the bed to look like he had just been awoken.

"What are you doing, Itachi?" Came Shisui's voice when his friend started shaking Sasuke violently.

"Sasuke!" Itachi said, and Sasuke lost his breath. That voice, that tone. It was his brother! He turned around desperately trying to hang onto that feeling.

"What?!" He said, and he felt despair wash over him as his voice broke the feeling, it was now lost forever.

"You see?" Itachi turned to Shisui. "He responded automatically. Do you think someone hired only a few days ago could do that?"

"I suppose no…" Shisui said, and Sasuke only now noticed that the men knew his name, but he had never given it to them.

"How? How do you know my name?"

"It doesn't matter. Pack up, you are going home." Itachi said in his emotionless tone.

Sasuke looked around, wanting to ask more, but the men looked pale and emotionless, and he was sure he'd learn nothing from them. Itachi rushed out and Shisui followed. Sasuke was glad, right? He was finally going back, going back to his brother and far away from this fucked up people. So what was the feeling he had in the pit of his stomach? What stopped him from completely rejoicing? He wanted to be away from this place. And probably these people wanted him gone too, but what did Sasuke say to make them act that shocked, that disgusted? In the distance, Sasuke was sure he heard someone throwing up.

Sasuke was not really sure what he was supposed to do. Pack up, Itachi said, but he hardly had anything to pack up. In fact, he had nothing to pack up, but, Shisui came to his rescue.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, not like I have any souvenirs to take home." Sasuke answered.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know we don't deserve you to understand us, but I still want you to." Shisui looked around and put his hands into his pockets, squirming around. "The thing is, we might not be the type of people you want around. We might not even know the reality, but we meant no harm. But whatever, you must be happy you are finally going back home." Shisui smiled.

"Suppose so. I don't hate you though. It's true, I want to, but this was somehow… fun. It's stupid, and I should probably strangle you all to death if I got the chance, but I guess you too had your reasons." Sasuke sighed, no need to lie. No big deal after all. He only hated Itachi, and that because he was just too damaged to distinguish his imagination from reality. Shisui smiled. He looked relieved.

"I'm glad you don't hate us, Sasuke. I would say it has been too long since someone actually said that."

"Where were you?"

"What?"

"All this time, before coming to my house, where were you?"

"This… Well, I would say it's better off if you didn't find out, but you have the right to know. You are not a child. We were in a mental institute." Shisui's voice was hard as steel and cold; it sent shivers down Sasuke's spine.

So they really _were_ insane. It wasn't just Sasuke's imagination. This was just too much. He really had to get away from them. He suddenly felt weird, dizzy, tired. This was maybe too much.

"Yes, we really are crazy." Shisui said, hinting Sasuke's thoughts. "You could say that the world would be a better place with us in that institute, but Itachi just… had to get out. He wanted to find out the truth, but I am sure it makes him even more miserable now. No, I can't explain more than this, I am sorry. You will be fine, Sasuke. You are a good person, as cliché as that sounds."

Shisui then got out and Sasuke followed, no other word was spoken again as he, Itachi and Shisui walked across the entire forest, just to get to a small forest road, where Kisame was waiting to his amazement, with a car.

"Where did you get that from?" Sasuke asked, knowing the answer.

"I stole it." The shark man smirked.

"You people are unbelievable." Sasuke said exasperated, while rolling his eyes in the back of his head.

"Hop in." Kisame said, and, once again, silence took over.


End file.
